Improvement in geain-sepabatoes



J. N. WILLIAMS,Jr.

Grain Winnower.

No, 70,000. Patented 0m. 22. 1867.

2537; fzjfyigi i w 4 7 gutter; gram germ ffttt.

IMPROVEMENT IN GRAIN-SEPARATORS.

th s Sfigrhnlt infant in in flgrst fitters 33min nut mating part at the aunt.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, J. NEWTON VvILLIAhlS, Jr., of St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey, and State of Minnesota, have invented a new and improved Grain-Separator; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are made a part of this specification.

In this separator the feed-board or gate within the hopper is adjustable to regulate the size of the throat, and receives an independent motion by the impact of the shaking-shoe; the discharging-ehuteboard receives a lateral shaking or vibratory motion from a pivoted lever moved by the shoe, and the front end of' said board is supported on hangers, which cause the corners of the board to rise and fall alternately; this motion, in conjunction with the vibratory motion, conducing to the complete and regular discharge of the grain from the board. The chute-board is providedwith converging guides, which serve to concentrate the grain and discharge it in an aggregated body. The front end of the lower screen of the shoe rests upon tappets or knockers pivoted to the chute-board, whose lateral motion causes the tappets to eontinuallyjar the screen in order to efi'ect a steady flow of the grain and the dislodgrnent and separation of screenings, etc.; and, finally, a rock-shaft sustains the front end of the shoe, and is actuated so as to give longitudinal motion to the latter by a rod attached to an eccentric wrist on the fan-shaft.

The above are believed to be theieatures of novelty and utility embraced in this invention.

Figure 1 is a plan of a grain-separator, illustrating my invention; the hopper being removed to expose the parts beneath.

t Figure 2 is a rear end elevation of the same.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section on the line or x, fig. 1.

Figure is a transverse section on the line 3 y, fig. 3.

Figure 5 is a detached perspective view of'the discharging-chute board and its appurtenances Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

A may represent theframe of a separator; B,- the fan-case; G, the rotary winged fan; D, the hopper; E,-

the shaking shoe, and F the chute-board, whereby the good separated grain is discharged from the mill. Power to-operatc the mill or separator may be applied at G to the fan-shaft G. The short shaft H carries a large gear vheeh l, which mesh'cs'with a trundle or pinion, J, on the fan-shaft, and communicates a rapidrevolving motion to the wings of thefan O. The rear end of the shoe is sustained by hangers K K, depending from the frame A. The front end of the shoe is attached to the bent extremity of the rock-shaft L, by which it is sustaincd. Jointed to the outer end of the rock-shaft L is a connecting-rod, M, (see fig. 4,) attached to a wrist-pin of the eccentric Nupon the end of the fan-shaft 0. Through the medium of the partsL M N the shoe receives its longitudinal motion. 0 is a connecting-rod, jointed to the wrist on the eccentric N, and attached to an elbowlever, I, connected 'by a. short rod or link, Q, to the side of the fan-case, near the rear end thereof. The parts N O P Q serve to' impart a horizontal reciprocating motion to the rear end of the shoe. It will be observed that the rear endofthe shoe also receives a rising and falling motion in consequence of its attachment to the hangers K K, whose lower ends necessarily describe ares of circles in vertical planes under the longitudinal and lateral motions imparted to the shoe by the rock-shaft L and.elbow-lever P. The mode of connecting the front end of' the shoe to the fan shaft e., means of the eccentric connecting-rod and rock-shaft) is believed .tobc novel,

and it is at once simple and cheap, and liable to less friction than the connections heretofore employed for this purpose. D is the pivoted gate or feed-bcard which guards the throat of the hopper, which threat has its capacity regulated by said feed-board in conjunction with the adjustable slide-board D The feed board is adjusted so as toopen the throat of the hopper to any extent, or entirely close the same, by means of a bent lever, 01 which is attached to the feed-board by means of staples d inserted into the under side of the feed board. A series of notches or a'notched plate is provided at d, in which to hold the lever D in order to fix the adjuste ment of the feed-board as may be desired.- In operation, therepeated impact of the top of the shoe E against the projecting incline D gives a rapid up and-down shaking motion to the feed-board D, the projecting end (2 of the lever d serving to support and limit the downward motion of the feed-board D, but leaving it free to rise. This motion of the feed-board insures the uninterrupted passage of the-contents of the hopper into the mill. A

series of teeth or fingers D projecting from the edge of feed-board D serves to detain the straw, and by tossing and catching the same, sift the grain into the forward end of the upper screen E of the shoe, the straw being subsequently deposited upon the same at a point near its tail end or else caught by the blast in descending, and so discharged. The forward end of the discharging-chute board F is suspended from the frame A by short hangersff. The chute-board is vibrated laterally by the lever F attached to its rear edge, and this lever is fulcrnmed at its extremityf to the frame A, and connected at its mid-length to the shoe E by the pin e and slotf. As the chute-b0ard is vibrated the hangers f cause its front corners to alternately rise, these combined motionsbeing particularly adapted to prevent the lodgment ofthe grain upon the board. F F are guides converging toward the front of thcmill, and serving to concentrate the grain and discharge it in a body at the centre of the board. To prevent any undue accumulation of the grain alongside of the main guides F, two or more '1 smaller supplement guides F are arranged so as to partially shield the guides F and assist them in a measure in the performance of their function. S S, fig. 4, are tappets or knockers pivoted to the rear end of the chuteboa'rd F, and having their lower ends confined in staples s s. As these tappets are oscillated by the motion of the chute-board, they knock against the frame of the lower screen E and byjarring the latter compel the screenings to pass through its meshes and the good grain to flow off freely. The shoe E is to be provided with notched plates 0 fig. 3, to afford bearings for the pins which support the rear end of the lower screen E After the first cleaning'or chafling 0f the grain I apply beneath the upper screen an adjustable cheat-board, beneath which the blast is concentrated, so as to give it sufiieient force to carry all light matters over the tailof the mill.

The upper screen separates all the larger refuse'and imperfectly threshed grain. The remainder, falling through on to the grain-board, gradually drops from the edge of the latter, where it is caught by the concentrated blast,

which carries smut and light grains and other matter over the tail of the mill. The heavy grain then falls upon the'lowerscreen, through which the small grains pass in customary manner, and theplump and first class grain only is delivered by the chute-board at the front of the mill. By these means I am enabled to separate smut from wheat as effectually as can be done by devices used for that special purpose in fionring-mills.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to seeure'b'y Letters Patent, is

1. The adjusting-lever D in combination with the staples cl, or their equivalents, to permit an independent motion of the fced-board, substantially as described.

2. Imparting a shaking motion to the feed-board D from the shoe, substantially as described.

3. The supporting hangers f, in combination with the chute-board F, substantially as'and for the purpose set forth. p

v 4.1 The lever F actuated by the shoe, and imparting a lateral vibration to the chute-board F, substantially as described. a

5. The converging cleats F F arranged as described on the chute-board to discharge the grain in a con centrated body. I I

6. The tappets or knockers S S pivoted to and actuated by the chute-board, and confined below their pivots so asto jar the screen, substantially as set forth. 1

7. The combination of theconneeting-rod M with the eccentric N on the fan-shaft, and the rock-shaft L, whereby the front end of the shoe is suspend-ed, substantially as described.

8. The combination with the feed-board D of the fingers or teeth D substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

To the above specification of my new and improved grain-separator I have signed my hand this 3d day of September, 1867. v v

- J e-NEWTON WILLIAMS, In.

Witnesses:

Oecrnvrus KNIGHT, J. E. M. BOWEN. 

